“No.” I crossed my arms, feeling more frustrated than ever. “But it didn’t hurt to try. Better than sitting around all day waiting and doing nothing.”
“You’re impatient,” Geneva observed. “But killing an original vampire is no easy business. The originals have always been secretive—it’s what’s kept them alive for all these centuries.”
“You don’t know how to kill her,” I realized. “That’s why you’re stalling.”
“Like I said, this is no easy business.” Her lack of a direct answer verified that I was correct. “But I will come up with a plan—one that will keep you alive. All I ask is that you bide the time until I do and make sure that the prince keeps you in this competition. Can you do that?”
I opened my mouth, ready to say that I would try. But I closed it, remembering a quote from Star Wars that my brother always reminded me of whenever I was struggling with a new skill in gymnastics—“Do or do not. There is no try.”
My date with Jacen was coming up this week. It was up to me to make sure it went well enough that he would choose to keep me in the Vale. I had no idea how to do that—dating had never been a skill of mine, since I’d always been so focused on schoolwork and gymnastics that I hadn’t had time for dating.
But Jacen had been interested in me enough as Annika, and our conversation in the hallway earlier had gone well. In the hallway, I’d been acting more like myself than I had since arriving to the palace. Maybe that was the trick—I needed to act more like myself.
I could do this. I had to do this.
“Yes,” I told her, trying to sound as confident as I wanted to feel. “I can.”
Karina
The wolf—a boy who couldn’t have been older than sixteen—turned around and ran toward the town. Like the others, he didn’t smell of wolf thanks to the concealment charm the witch Marigold had created for him.
“That’s the final one?” I asked Noah, who stood with Marigold across the boundary.
I couldn’t believe I was helping the wolves sneak into the Vale. But King Nicolae was convinced that if the Vale fell, Queen Laila would have no where else to turn but to him—and that she would finally be his queen like he’d always wanted. When the invitation from Prince Jacen had arrived requesting that two princesses be sent to the Vale from each vampire kingdom, King Nicolae had been quick to select me. Not because he wanted me to win Prince Jacen’s heart—but because he wanted me to work from the inside to help the wolves take down the kingdom.
King Nicolae’s unrequited obsession with Queen Laila didn’t faze me. The only thing I cared about was the blood oath he’d made me—his promise that if I helped the wolves take down the Vale and got Laila to him, he would do everything he could to get me Geneva’s sapphire ring. He was positive that Laila had the ring. Whether or not she did didn’t bother me—by the terms of the blood oath, Nicolae was bound to help me get the ring if I helped take down the Vale and brought Laila to him.
I needed that ring. Geneva was the only witch in the world who could have strong enough powers to resurrect the love of my life, Peter.
I would do anything to have Peter back.
Even if that meant turning against my own kind and fraternizing with the enemy.
“He’s the final one,” Noah confirmed, his gaze locked on mine.
For a wolf, I found Noah strangely agreeable. All I’d known of wolves before coming to the Vale were the savage packs that prowled the boundary of the Carpathian Kingdom—the castle in the Carpathian Mountains of Eastern Europe where I’d lived since King Nicolae had taken me from my Romanian town over a century ago and turned me into a vampire princess. The wolves around our castle were animalistic and vicious.
According to Noah, the packs in the Vale used to war all the time, too. Then they’d started receiving visions in their dreams—prophecies that told them their Savior was ready to rise and bring peace to their kind.
The only catch? Their Savior could only rise if the vampires were cleared from the Vale.
I wasn’t sure what I thought of the supposed prophecies. All I knew was that Noah was the first to receive the dream, and that from the passionate way he talked about his cause, he truly believed in what he was doing by bringing the wolves together in preparation to defeat the vampires.
Not like that mattered to me, of course.
All that mattered was getting Peter back.
“Now we just have to wait for the scouts to complete their job,” Marigold said, her eyes gleaming as she looked out to the spot where the most recent wolf had disappeared into the forest.
Marigold was a witch who used to live in the Carpathian Kingdom. When King Nicolae learned that the wolves outside of the Vale were becoming a threat to Queen Laila, he’d sent Marigold to investigate. While investigating, Marigold had fallen in love with the leader of Noah’s pack, Cody. Now, Marigold was fully invested in helping the wolves in their cause.
With my help, she’d used her powers to sneak a few wolves into the boundary for a scouting mission.
“Is that all you need from me?” I asked, looking back and forth between Marigold and Noah. My gaze eventually settled on Noah. I couldn’t help it—even though he was a wolf, he was remarkably attractive. I would never say it out loud, of course, but there was something magnetic about him.
Perhaps it was because he had such a passionate belief in his cause. I’d always found passion to be attractive. It was what had drawn me to Peter back at the turn of the twentieth century—Peter had been just as interested and passionate about the technological advancement of mankind as I.
I’d lost that passion after he died. King Nicolae was known for being stuck in his ways, and I’d allowed myself to become trapped in time along with the rest of the Carpathian Kingdom.
Progress reminded me too much of Peter. And being reminded of the love that I’d lost was too much to bear.
“It’s all we need for now,” Noah said. “But there is one more thing I’d be honored for you to do for us.”
“What’s that?” I tapped my foot, since I didn’t have all day. I’d piled on layers of clothing so I could sneak out of the palace during the day, but the sun weakened my strength. The sooner I returned to the palace, the more time I would have to recover before everyone awoke at sunset.
“I’d like for you to come with me to camp and meet the pack.”
“What?” I backed up, looking at him like he was crazy. “No. No way. This was never part of our agreement.”
“Our agreement was that you would help us defeat the vampires,” Marigold chimed in. “Between the first time you came to us and now, members of the pack have been receiving more dreams. The dreams tell them that when it’s time to bring down the Vale, they’ll have the help of a witch and a vampire. I’m the witch. Seeing you—the vampire—will show them that the time for our Savior to rise is approaching.”
“The visions have really been showing that?” I looked to Noah for confirmation. He’d been the first wolf to receive a vision—they called him the First Prophet. I trusted him with this more than I trusted Marigold.
He wouldn’t lie about something so important to him.
“They have.” He nodded. “The wolves have been doubtful that a vampire would ever help our cause. A few are even starting to desert camp. Seeing you would put their fears to rest and solidify the packs once more.”
“They’ll be thrilled to meet you,” Marigold added, stepping up next to Noah.
“If they don’t jump on me and attack me first,” I muttered.
I could take on wolves in a fight—I’d done it before—but walking into a camp full of multiple packs while weakened by sunlight would be a suicide mission.
“They won’t harm you,” Noah assured me. “They only want proof of your existence. I’ll return you safely to the Vale before sunset. You have my word.”
“Are you willing to make a blood oath on that promise?” I asked.
“I will,” he told me. “As long as you agree to
tell no one of our location.”
“All right,” I said, satisfied with his response. “We’ll make the blood oath. And then I’ll go with you to the camp.”
Karina
I stepped out of the boundary, into air that was brisk and cold. It was the type of weather I’d expected during winter in the Canadian Rockies. The witch of the Vale—Camelia—kept the inside of the boundary warm, assumedly so the humans wouldn’t freeze. As a vampire, the cold didn’t bother me, and it didn’t bother Noah, either. Since Marigold wasn’t bundled up to the extreme, I guessed she was using a spell to keep herself warm.
“You should wear this.” Marigold held a small brown pouch out to me. There was a cord attached to it so the wearer could put it around his or her neck.
“What is it?” I asked.
“An enchanted mixture of herbs and spices,” she said. “It’s an extra of what I gave to the wolves we sent inside the boundary. It’ll hide your scent.”
I took it from her and put it around my neck, since she was right—going into a camp full of wolves without hiding my vampire scent would be asking for trouble.
Noah led the way to the camp. The two of us ran, and he carried Marigold on his back, since witches didn’t have the speed of shifters and vampires. I was slower than usual, due to the sunlight weakening my strength, but Noah kept a pace that I could maintain.
We must have run for twenty miles before a wolf stopped us in our path. The animal growled at me, its lips pulled back to show its teeth.
I looked around for a weapon, ready to fight if necessary. There were plenty of sticks and stones nearby. Of course, since it was only one wolf, I could fight well enough with my hands and fangs, but better to be safe than sorry.
Noah placed his arm in front of me—a clear sign for the wolf not to attack. “The outsider is no threat,” he said to the wolf. “She’s the vampire from our visions, here to help us win back our land.”
The wolf shifted into human form. He was another man—not quite as tall as Noah, but much more muscular. I assumed he was some kind of guard.
“It’s true, then?” he asked, looking at me. “A vampire is going to help us in our cause?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “I helped Marigold sneak the final scout through the boundary today.”
“Scout.” He snorted. “That’s one word for it. But all right—I believe you. Only because no other vampire in their right mind would volunteer to come to our camp otherwise.”
“I’ve brought her here to introduce her to the pack, so they can see for themselves that the visions are coming true,” Noah said.
“Very well.” The wolf turned his attention to me once more. “Do you have a name, vampire?”
“Daria.” I used the name of my long-dead sister—the sister I’d had when I’d been a human. While I trusted Noah enough to let him take me here, I certainly didn’t trust the wolves enough to provide them with my true identity.
“All right, Daria,” he said with a nod. “I’ll escort the three of you to camp to make sure no other guards bother you on your way in.”
He turned around and led the way.
Karina
The camp was more normal than I’d expected.
Clusters of tents were set up all around, and in the middle of the clusters were campfires with blankets. Families gathered around the fires, cooking, making clothes, and chatting amongst themselves. Many were also forging weapons—stakes, for the most part. Farther away, wolves trained for battle, using both weapons and teeth.
“You look surprised,” Noah observed, his eyes shining with pride when he looked at me.
“I didn’t expect it to be this… civilized,” I admitted.
“It wasn’t this way until recently,” he told me. “Before the packs came together—when we were constantly at war—we remained in our wolf forms as much as possible. We slept as wolves, ate as wolves, and fought as wolves. But we’re shifters—we’re not pure animals. We’re meant to be human, too. By coming together, we’ve been able to set up camp and satisfy our human sides as well.”
“But you’re not human,” I said. “Shifters feed on humans, just as vampires do.”
The only difference was that humans could survive a vampire bite if we didn’t drain them dry. Once a wolf took a chomp of a human, that human was as good as dead.
“The more time we spend in our wolf form, the less in touch we get with our humanity,” he explained. “The wolf takes over, and humans become prey, like any other prey out there. It’s something shifters have struggled with since the beginning of time. For centuries, our packs have been more wolf than human. But the dreams have brought us together and encouraged us to embrace our humanity once more. Once our Savior rises, we hope to make this camp more permanent. Perhaps we’ll even integrate with society. On the outskirts, of course—our wolves will always need the opportunity to run free—but with the peace and salvation brought by our Savior, integration should finally be possible.”
“Well, at least I wasn’t totally wrong in thinking that the shifters were complete animals,” I said. “I hope your Savior brings you the peace you’re looking for.”
“I didn’t peg you as the type to admit to being wrong about anything.” Noah smirked. “But since you said it first, I can admit as well—I suppose that my assumption about all vampires being soulless and cold-hearted was wrong, too.”
I smiled at him, glad we could agree about something.
Then I realized that I actually felt a connection between us, and I averted my eyes, gazing around the camp to distance myself from him once more.
“If you’re not animals, what’s that cage for?” I glanced at a half-built cage in the distance, where men were working to complete the structure.
“It’s for Laila.” He omitted her title, like he did for all royal vampires. “Original vampires can’t be killed as easily as most vampires—they can only be killed by Nephilim. They’re impervious to all other attacks.”
“Where did you hear that?” I asked, surprised that he knew.
After the last Nephilim had been killed, royal vampires had used compulsion to compel that knowledge from anyone who knew. The original vampires kept their secret from most everyone. For reasons of self-preservation, they didn’t want the word to get out on how they could be killed. I only knew because I was in King Nicolae’s trusted circle—I was one of the vampires who had used my compulsion to hide that knowledge from the rest of the supernatural world.
“Our Savior told us in our dreams,” he answered, his words giving me chills.
These dreams must be legitimate if they contained the knowledge of how to kill an original vampire.
“Your Savior is correct,” I told him. “But I hardly think a wooden cage will be enough to contain Queen Laila.”
“It will once I have my way with it,” Marigold piped in from behind us. I’d forgotten she was even there until now. “We’ll infuse the wood with wormwood, and I’ll use my magic to intensify the plant’s effect. It’ll weaken her so much that she won’t have the strength to escape. Not like she’ll be conscious to try, since we’ll inject her with wormwood as well.”
I shuddered and looked away from the cage, hating to imagine any vampire trapped inside of such a torture device.
“The plan has already been arranged with King Nicolae,” Marigold continued. “Once Laila is captured, he’ll receive a call to come get her. He’ll bring two witches, both with enough magic to teleport them back to the Carpathian Kingdom.”
“And the king is going to do what?” I asked. “Keep Laila as a prisoner in the castle until she agrees to be his queen?”
The question was rhetorical—of course no one knew what King Nicolae would do with Laila. But with her kingdom destroyed and her title ripped from under her, the possibilities were endless. I didn’t think he would hurt her, but he was so obsessed with her that he might keep her in the castle against her will.
“What he does with her is his business,” Noah said
, strong and sure. “All that matters is that once the vampires are cleared from the Vale, our Savior will finally be free to rise.”
And once King Nicolae has Laila where he wants her, he’ll get me Geneva’s sapphire ring and I can wish for Peter’s return, I thought, although I didn’t voice it out loud.
We stood there for a few seconds in silence, and I took in the scene around me.
“You didn’t have to use a fake name,” Noah said in my ear, softer now. “You can trust me to keep you safe.”
My heart leaped into my throat at how close he was standing, and I forced myself to take a step back. “I know you’ll keep me safe,” I told him, and I meant it. “But I wanted to be careful… in case something goes wrong, I can’t risk having my identity known. It’s best they think I’m a regular vampire of the Vale.”
“Nothing about you is regular.” His eyes were intense as he gazed at me. “You’re royalty, and it shows in your every movement.”
“Thank you.” I gave an exaggerated curtsy, hoping to lighten the tension between us. “Perhaps I’ll be ‘Lady Daria’ then? Not a princess… but not a commoner, either.”
“Lady Daria it is.” He held a hand out to me. “But we’ve been standing on the periphery for far too long. Come. It’s time to introduce you to the pack.”
Karina
It took only five minutes for Noah and Marigold to assemble the wolves. Soon, the three of us were standing atop a picnic table, the wolves gathered around us.
“Over the past few days, our Savior has been sending us new dreams—dreams that say we’ll be able to fight the vampires and win once a witch and a vampire join our cause.” Noah projected his voice so loudly that even the wolves in the back could hear. “You all are familiar with the witch Marigold, mate to my pack leader Cody.” At the mention of Marigold’s name, cheers erupted in the crowd.
The Vampire Trick (Dark World: The Vampire Wish Book 3) Page 3
